SPARTANBURG, S.C. – There was no Thanksgiving Holiday slump for the Converse University women's basketball team as they dismantled Johnson & Wales 85-51 on Sunday afternoon at the Weisiger Center.
Converse (2-3, 1-1 Conference Carolinas) won the opening tip-off and scored the first points of the game with 8:55 to play in the opening quarter.
Sydney Wilson (Henderson, Tenn.) blocked the Wildcats first shot attempt of the afternoon and found
Keyshuna Fair (Anderson, S.C.) on the outlet pass. Fair scored the fastbreak basket and the Valkyries led 2-0. Converse opened the game on a 7-3 run but they found themselves trailing 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Valkyries opened up the second quarter on a 7-0 run with baskets made by Fair,
Jordan Brown (McCormick, S.C.) and
Zahra Cross (Austin, Texas). Converse continued to press the Johnson & Wales (4-2) offense and force the Wildcats into difficult situations. With 2:31 to play in the quarter
Lindsey Hardin (Inman, S.C.) scored a fast break layup to give the Valkyries an 8-point lead. Moments later
Ayanna Parker (Stafford, Va.) converted four consecutive free-throws on back-to-back possessions to give Converse their first double-digit lead of the match. The Valkyries went into the halftime break up 37-25 over the Wildcats.
Throughout the opening moments of the third quarter the two squads went basket-for-basket, but once again the Valkyries defense pressured the Wildcats into poor decision making. With 4:18 remaining in the period, Hardin nailed a three-pointer to give Converse a 52-32 advantage over Johnson & Wales. Leading 60-44 going into the final quarter of action, the Valkyries closed the game on a 25-7 run against the Wildcats.
Hardin was a perfect 5-5 from the field and made all four of her free throw attempts to finish with a team high 16-points coming off the bench. Fair finished second on the team with 15-points and tied for the team lead with 8 rebounds in the game. Wilson finished third on the team with a 12-point and 8 rebound effort in the win. Cross rounded out the Valkyries double-digit scorers with 11-points in the contest. As a team the Valkyries shot 53 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 73 percent from the free-throw line.
Next Up:
The Valkyries will be back in action this Tuesday night against Mount Olive, tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. in the Weisiger Center.
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